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Massive Exoplanet Evolved In Extreme 4-Star System

astroengine writes "For only the second time, an exoplanet living with an expansive family of four stars has been revealed. The exoplanet, which is a huge gaseous world 10 times the mass of Jupiter, was previously known to occupy a 3-star system, but a fourth star (a red dwarf) has now been found, revealing quadruple star systems possessing planets are more common than we thought. "About four percent of solar-type stars are in quadruple systems, which is up from previous estimates because observational techniques are steadily improving," said co-author Andrei Tokovinin of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The whole 4-star family is collectively known as 30 Ari, located some 136 light-years from Earth — in our interstellar backyard. The exoplanet orbits the primary star of the system once every 335 days. The primary star has a new-found binary partner (which the exoplanet does not orbit) and this pair are locked in an orbital dance with a secondary binary, separated by a distance of 1,670 astronomical unit (AU), where 1 AU is the average distance between the Earth and sun.

8 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. You know you thought of Serenity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The moment you read the description of the star system and its location. At least I did.

  2. "evolved" by Rob+Bos · · Score: 2

    I wish writers wouldn't say "evolved" when they mean "formed" or perhaps "developed".

  3. I support traditional orbital mechanics by Jeremi · · Score: 5, Funny

    Where I come from, a solar system is defined as the union of one sun and a few planets.

    We don't go in for that kinky multi-stellar shit.

    --


    I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
    1. Re:I support traditional orbital mechanics by trout007 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Not from Utah I guess?

      --
      I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
  4. Re:Another way new stars are born? by rubycodez · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There's a debate about what constitutes a "brown dwarf", but if you go with the school of thought that it had to have some amount fusion going in the past, this thing would be just a wee bit too light at 10 Jupiter mass, but over 13 is needed for fusion.

  5. I wonder if there are any smaller planets by MrKaos · · Score: 2
    And if there is anything at the centre point between the two binary stars.

    this is pretty wow to me!!

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  6. Re:How you know SlashDot is dumbing down by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 2

    If you're in a hurry, you can cover that distance in just 0.00000484 parsecs

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  7. Plan your vacation to 30 Ari now! by Zephyn · · Score: 2

    Regardless of where you're staying, it's all four star accommodations.